Accession - The Emperor as Philosopher, probably Marcus Aurelius, 1986.5

gi4 THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART

Public Information Department, 11150 East Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio 44106; 216/421-7340

PRESS RELEASE

February 1 , 1987

MUSEUM UNVEILS MONUMENTAL ROMAN BRONZE SCULPTURE

The most important work of art acquired by The Cleveland Museum of Art
last year, an over life-size bronze sculpture of a draped figure, thought by
many scholars to represent the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, who ruled from
A.D. 161 to 180, is the subject of a special exhibition within the Museum's
annual Year in Review exhibition, on view at the Museum from February 4
through March 15, 1987*

The sculpture, which dates to the late 2nd century A.D., is one of a
group of Roman bronze figures and heads — believed to have come from Turkey —
that appeared on the Western art market in the 1960s. They have been widely
exhibited and published since then, and many are now in museums and private
collections. The sculptures represent members of the Antonine and Severan
dynasties who ruled the Roman empire from the mid-second century to the mid-
third century AD and may have originally stood in an imperial cult temple for
the worship of deified emperors and their families.

To establish the identity of the Cleveland bronze figure, which is
headless and the only draped male figure in the group. Curator of Ancient Art
Arielle Kozloff and other scholars have studied the costume of the figure and
the context in which it was found. First of all, they knew that Marcus
Aurelius and his son Commodus were the only emperors whose portraits were
missing from the group of sculptures. Second, the Cleveland bronze figure

2-roman bronze sculpture

stands in the traditional pose and wears the costume of a philosopher — a long,
rectangular robe over a short tunic, and humble traveler's sandals. Since
Marcus Aurelius was famous in his own times as a Stoic philosopher as well as
a strong administrator and military leader, it seems appropriate that he would
have been memorialized in this way. Finally, the treatment of the drapery and
the emphasis of the form of the human body beneath are characteristic of art
during the time of Marcus Aurelius's reign.

All of this information is presented in the exhibition organized by
Arielle Kozloff, with the assistance of Diane Kelling, a Case Western Reserve
University intern in the Department of Ancient Art. Exhibited with the
Cleveland bronze is one other sculpture supposedly found with it, a bronze
bust of a lady, now in the Worcester (Massachusetts) Art Museum, possibly
thought to portray Marcus Aurelius's wife, Faustina, or his daughter, Lucilla.
Also on exhibit are a marble head of Marcus Aurelius (ca. 170-180) , lent by
the Art Museum, Princeton University, and a marble head of Lucius Verus, who
was co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius from A.D. 161 to 16$), on loan from the
Toledo Museum of Art. Accompanying these sculptures are photographs of some
of the other bronze figures which were part of the original find.

A group of ancient Roman coins, lent by the American Numismatic Society,
portray Marcus Aurelius, members of his immediate family, and other emperors
of the Antonine and Severan dynasties. Some of these coins also depict
temples of the type that housed monumental imperial sculptures.

In the final section of the exhibition. Museum conservators Fred
Hollendonner and Bruce Christman explain the ancient bronze-casting techniques

3 ~roman bronze sculpture

which were used to create the Cleveland sculpture. X-radiographs of* the
bronze figure show that it was cast in 29 sections and then welded together.

"Regardless of who it might represent," said Museum Director Evan Turner,
the Museum's new acquisition is an unexcelled expression of the aesthetics,
iconography, and craftsmanship of the ancient Roman Empire. It adds
monumental scale to the Museum's classical galleries with a quality readily
matching that of the best vases and smaller bronzes in the collection."

The Museum's March 1987 Bulletin is devoted to the study of this
extraordinary object, and includes articles by Curator of Ancient Art Arielle
Kozloff and by Museum conservator Bruce Christman.

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For additional information or photographs, please contact the Public
Information Office, The Cleveland Museum of Art, IH 50 East Boulevard
Cleveland, Ohio 44106; 216/421-7340.